When asking my grandfather about their life ─ their love ─ his responses are often only the remnants of faded memories. Occasionally, he refers me to gather the missing details from my grandmother who has lost the capability to speak for nearly two years now.

For 60 years, John and Gretchen have worked to build a life together. However, the world and the memories they’ve created have become dismantled through the deteriorating effects of Gretchen’s Alzheimer’s disease. Together, the frayed memories and documents of their life will tell the story of John and Gretchen. Buried between the handwritten letters and annual birthday cards, lays a wilted corsage. A symbol of their thriving world, now withered and worn, represents one key element of their bond: dancing together. As the silence and stillness of life takes hold, the music from their love ─ their life ─ lives on.

Danielle Quijada
After attaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Arizona State University, Danielle decided to pursue a postgraduate degree in photojournalism. Since August of 2017, she has worked as a University of Westminster Documentary Photography and Photojournalism Master’s student to fuse an international experience, passion for storytelling and love of photography to set the foundation for future endeavors.